Chapter 29 - Under The Cover of Night

Asara was waiting for us when we arrived back near the exit, alongside forty-nine other riders all positioned behind her next to their mounts. It was quite the sight, seeing fifty kords in shining silver amour with shining glaives awaiting me. They all fell to one knee when as I approached and Asara stepped forward.

"Your majesty, all is ready. We shall strike under the cover of night and the stars shall bear witness to your great victory."

I smiled at her words and felt a surge of confidence flow through me. With these riders and my summons, we would win, I no longer had doubts. The star would indeed bear witness to our victory.

"Our great victory," I corrected, giving her a respectful nod. "I shall not be doing this alone. You shall be by my side as will your riders. We shall accomplish this together. Though I have to ask can they turn off the shining effect?"

They looked absolutely stunning and elegant in their armour but it wouldn't be much of a sneak attack under the cover of night if we were easily visible, though I could imagine how it would look if we were. Fifty shining stars falling down into a marching army to cause chaos and havoc, Unfortunately, in this case, stealth would be better

She laughed and gave me a genuine smile that lit up her face. "Of course we can turn it off. Now your majesty will you be taking the lead, or shall I?"

"You will lead us for the majority but when the fort is within sight I shall take the charge," I said. "I only have two commands, destroy the enemy, and defend the fort. Do not take foolish actions and do not waste your lives. You are all precious to this kingdom and we cannot afford to lose any of you, though I am not that optimistic. There will, unfortunately, be losses, but you're to try and minimize them, am I understood?"

She bowed at the waist. "Yes, your majesty, when you are ready please take to your mount and be prepared. The roof shall open up momentarily."

With that said she turned and barked a single order to those behind her. They all immediately saluted and began to mount their silver hawks. I smiled at the discipline they showed and turned to head for Rath. He was up and ready and he gave me a pleased growl when I approached.

"You ready, Rath?" I asked, climbing upon him.

His only reply was a roar as Domino and Lilah joined me.

We waited together, and I felt my excitement rise even further as the roof above us slowly began to open up, revealing a sea of night dotted with stars. It was a beautiful sight. It was just a shame It would be stained by the bloodshed we would cause soon.

"Riders, rise and set into formation twelve!" Asara commanded. Silverhawks began to flap their wings buffeting the area around them with air as they rose into the sky. Rath was only a moment behind them and I sent him a command to follow Asara who was closest to us.

Together with fifty talon riders and my summons we left the capital to head north towards the upcoming battle.

"Your majesty, if you would follow," Asara shouted. I nodded in affirmation and a moment later we were off

The silver hawks flew fast and I gave Rath the command to fly his fastest. He let out a pleased roar and flapped his wings hard increasing his speed. We drew closer to Asara who looked back with a surprised look that quickly turned into a feral grin as she realized that Rath could fly quite fast.

"Riders, Keep speed with Rath," Asara shouted. Her own silver hawk increased speed a moment later and drew away from us though she was still well within sight. I glanced back to see the other silver hawks set into some form of triangular formation. They were all in perfect sync down to the beating of their wings.

"Imagine seeing that coming your way?" Domino asked.

"It'd be terrifying, and hopefully it is," I said. "We want our enemies to be scared. They should be sacred."

"True," Domino replied. "Anyone who messes with us won't live for long."

I nodded, not responding. Instead, I leaned back into Lilah and enjoyed the ride. Gods only knew the peace and quiet of the night would soon be disturbed and broken by blood, screams, and the clashing of steel on steel. It'd be hard to guess that a battle was imminent just from looking around.

I felt Lilah's arms wrap around me and I smiled. Most people would find it disturbing or uncomfortable, but Lilah was mine and I knew I could trust her with my life. No to mention her presence was always a comfort to have. A silent watcher and friend to help me carry my burdens and ease my aches. I'll get you fixed up one day, I thought, I promise.

"Boss, I've been meaning to ask you something," Domino said. "Whats the plan after the kingdom. Are we staying or are you gonna put a regent in charge then leave?"

I opened my mouth to reply then paused. Did I want to stay? Larra was only a minor Kingdom and the world was a wide place not to mention the fact that it would be harder to grow in power if I just stayed in one place, but who could I put in charge. Richard or Susana? They had both proven they were competent, but I didn't know them, not truly at least. I had no clue if they had good intentions or bad intentions. At the time I'd simply been looking for two people who could do their jobs correctly. I would think on it later, and if I did leave I would need to put a trusted regent in place. Someone I knew could handle it.

"I'm not sure yet," I replied to Domino. "I haven't really decided. They're also the fact that in all honesty, I doubt this is the only kingdom ill take in my journey. There is one thing I'm certain of though. I will stabilize this kingdom and help it grow out of the phase it's in where everything's a mess. I will not allow a kingdom of mine to be in such a state."

[Host should also be aware of kill hop protocol]

"Eden?," I asked, confused. "That you? It's been a while since you've spoken and what this about a kill hop protocol?"

[I can not talk about it in detail, but I can say that it is an emergency measure.}

"Meaning?"

Eden didn't respond.

"Well thanks Eden, great information," I said sarcastically. It seemed that there were more things about the system that I was unaware of. I hoped it didn't come back to fuck me over later on. I had enough to deal with as it was.

"What did she say?" Domino asked in a curious tone.

"Something about a security measure that's part of the system," I replied. "She didn't go into detail though so I have no clue what the hell it's supposed to mean or what the measure is."

"Your majesty!"

I looked up to see Asara waving at me.

"Your majesty, we should be arriving in less than fifteen minutes," She shouted. "It's a straight shot ahead, You can't miss the fort. Would you like to take the lead now or wait?

"I'll take the lead now," I shouted back. She nodded in response and a moment later flew back to a position behind me. I sent a mental command to Rath to fly ahead by a bit.

"We're almost there," I said back to Domino and Lilah. "When we arrive I'm going to fly low and drop you all off in your positions. Remember you don't have to worry about dying. Just do as much damage as you can and cause as much havoc as you can."

"You got it," Domino said.

Lila nodded into my back.

ok, I thought, pulling up my trigger thoughts to get myself into that state of cold determination. The thoughts arose in my mind and I focused on them. My parents, my weakness, Lory and Lemma, my need to grow strong and other thoughts. I balled them up and threw them into the burning cold flame. The cold feeling washed over me and I let out a slow breath as I pushed away all other thoughts in favor of focusing on the upcoming fight.